National Plagiarism Week
This content was posted January 30, 2009. … It is National Plagiarism Week! Here for the first act at chamblee54, we give blame/credit to Father Tony. As he puts it: A pathologist sent me this list: Washington Post’s “Mensa Invitational” which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house,
which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
2. Ignoranus: A person who is both stupid and an asshole.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund,
which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating.
The bozone layer, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
7.Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high
8.Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
11. Karmageddon: It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right?
And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious bummer.
12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day,
consuming only things that are good for you.
13. Glibido: All talk and no action.
14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve walked through a spider web.
16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you’re eating.
National Plagiarism Week is no longer observed. Some killjoy replaced it with Plagiarism Prevention Day, which will be celebrated February 19, 2026 Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken in 1958. “The Krystal, Lee Street, SW. “ ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Perro
It’s the first day of the new year. One feature of a new year is the Banished Words List from Lake Superior State University. I decided to celebrate by crafting a poem out of the words. Two words that were not banished, but could have been, were included to rhyme. · 6-7 Reach Out Perfect Gift, My Bad Demure Game Changer Slop, Absolutely Cooked Massive Grift, Gifted Incentivize Full Stop.
About 1730, I decided to go out and walk. I decided to listen to the rest of Freak Flag Flying podcast, episode #7. FFF is a show where David Crosby talks about things. I had about 10 minutes left on #7, then I immediately turned on #8, the last episode of the series. They are talking about If I Could Only Remember My Name, a “solo” album released in 1971. One of the prime songs on that album is “Laughing.” FFF played a demo that Cros did in 1968, which was “interesting”. A few minutes later, they played the version on IICORMN, which is magical.
“Laughing” started as I took my first step into the Ashford Forest Preserve. This is a magic place, a wooded patch across the street from Peachtree-Dekalb airport. AFP used to belong to the airport, and it was illegal to go there … which makes it more fun. I was listening to this exquisite Piece of music, while walking on this path that I had walked on many times before. It could have been a video.
I just went on, until I got to a bench that overlooks a Ravine. I decided to sit down on the bench and meditate. It was a little bit after six o’clock, and there was still some light, on the twelfth day after the solstice. The light is returning.
I was at the 24 minutes into FFF#8, and I made a note of that. The meditation was not as magical as I might have liked, and I ended it early. After putting another layer of clothes on, I tried to turn on FFF#8. The music player had other ideas, and started on something else. After getting mad and cursing, I decided to listen to FFF#8 from the start. Even though it was a full moon, the sky was dark enough to make me find my flashlight. When “Laughing” played, and Joni sang her ethereal harmony, I decided it was time to use the flashlight.
The players at Wally Heider studio called themselves the planet earth rock and roll orchestra, or perro. I found a copy of these files years ago, when I had a dialup connection. The folder was 141mg, and it took all night to download. Today, I downloaded a similar collection in less than a minute. The title : “Jerry Garcia live at Wally Heider’s, San Francisco, CA on 1971-01-02”. This 55 years ago, to the day. The plan now is to listen to the files, and eliminate the ones where they play a note or two and laugh. I may get a usable playlist from all this. Unfortunately, there are three lists, and they all have different names for each track. This may be more brain damage than it is worth. This is not the first time anyone has said that David Crosby is more brain damage than he is worth.
Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken July 30, 1966. “Jimmy Carter with family members in their Plains, Georgia home during Carter’s first campaign for governor” On January 2, 1971, Governor Elect Jimmy Carter was waiting to begin his term as Governor. ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Cold-Blooded Rule
The display of a link on this page does not indicate approval of content.
‘Jayne knew exactly what she was doing’: The forgotten story behind the most famous …
Frank Zappa’s Cold-Blooded Rule for Musicians Who Couldn’t Keep Up
@noam_dworman 1/X At a certain point, denial stops being plausible. @martyrmade has …
The Year in Trump Foreign Policy | Robert Wright, Andrew Day, and Connor Echols
The Dark Story of Coca-Cola Heir’s Mansion: Asa Candler’s Briarcliff Estate”
What Bari Weiss Is Really Up To On The Time of Monsters: David Klion on Trump’s …
American shipyards are building three of the 5,448 large commercial vessels …
Chevy Chase “hurt” to be excluded from SNL 50 despite lifetime acting like Chevy Chase
Prosthetic? Never heard of her: 11 actors who bared the real thing, and looked good doing it
How to Unclog Your Ears the Right Way, According to Experts – explain how your ears …
Hayden Cinema enacts new minor policy following disruptive ‘Minecraft Movie’ behavior
Shots fired after swarm of teenagers set off fireworks at Atlantic Station, police say
1207g · 1208g · 1217f · k093 · k093
lucifer rising · eddie murphy · electric sheep podcast · podcast list · eisenhower
jim palmer · coprophagy · trichinosis · tom waits · testudinous
testudinous · sermons · epstein files browser · bridgit fonda · justice4germans
kent state · fani · ear buds · andy rooney · gail dot com · devil’s advocate
toxic · lowry liberty · tulsi gabbard · diane hughes · fela kuti · harps
are you a participant in the Chorus Creator Incubator Program? · Insects ravaging grain fields, orchards or vineyards were cited to appeal by counsel before a civil tribunal, and after testimony, argument and condemnation, if they continued in contumaciam the matter was taken to a high ecclesiastical court, where they were solemnly excommunicated and anathematized. · Dire Straights had a song, “Industrial Disease”, On ITV and BBC they talk about the curse, Philosophy is useless, theology is worse · At a recent military technology conference in Tel Aviv, Israeli weapons companies made some of their most explicit remarks yet connecting the value of their products to the real-world testing of that firepower on Palestinians in Gaza · There was an online quiz about cannibalism once. One of the questions: “Suppose you were in a restaurant and cooked human flesh was on the menu, what would you do?” The possible answers were: Call the police, I’d order it, I wouldn’t order it · In 2020, Indiana University displayed a photograph of the typed original lyrics to “Georgia on my mind.” The words “old sweet” were penciled in, over some words that were scratched out. This photograph is no longer available · @QuoteResearch @chamblee54 Your tweet from March 18, 2025 inspired the creation of a QI article · the winter solstice festivities included drinking and carousing. Many of these customs were continued in the Christmas season. To many people, “Merry” meant “Drunk.” IOW, when you wish someone a Merry Christmas, you are saying to get bombed. · This picture is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, the GSU library does not have much information. “Man with 5 small children” was taken in 1942. “Possibly a Georgia Power Company official? Envelope description: Georgia Power Company” · Yes, swearing can punctuate a sentence to great effect. But it should be more of a semi-colon than a comma; tricky to use correctly but amazingly useful when you know what to do with it · I debated the [ __ ] Dave Smith · The Doomsday Glacier Is Getting Closer and Closer to Irreversible Collapse · So I broke down and bought a keyboard with a touchpad. The keyboard is smaller than I like, but the touchpad seems to work just fine. We will see how this works · Cesar Alonso Sebastian Marquez · Pictures today are from Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken November 29, 1960. Ponce de Leon and Linwood. This is what that intersection looks like today. ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
War On Christmas
This content was originally published December 14, 2012. The “War on Christmas” is much less contentious in 2025. … Merry Christmas used to be a greeting of good will. It meant, I am happy that you survived the year, have a nice holiday. Saying Merry Christmas, instead of Happy Holidays, was not an in your face gesture, designed to express a religious opinion.
Christmas used to be a time of peace on earth and good will towards men. There were parties, gift giving, and holiday time from school and work. The religious part has always been there, but if you could ignore it if you wanted to.
“Some” Christians want it all. The fact that our culture is dominated by Jesus worship is not good enough. And they don’t care if it offends you. Peace on earth, and good will towards men, is obsolete.
We don’t know when Jesus was born. Some scholars say he was born in the spring, but it was a long, long time ago. When the early Christians were trying to convert the Romans, they decided to have a birthday celebration for Jesus at the time of a pagan holiday. It is the winter solstice, the time of renewal at the end of the year. It is an ideal time for a religious feast.
Many people, myself included, have been hurt by Jesus. Christianism is an aggressive religion. If you don’t agree, you can expect to be insulted and humiliated. As society becomes more and more secular, believers get more aggressive. Many people have come to see the birth of Jesus as something to be mourned, rather than celebrated.
I used to enjoy saying Merry Christmas. To me, it was a greeting of good will. Now, it is taking sides in a nasty fight. Maybe the proper thing to say is have a nice day.
And now for something completely different. I found this recently, and it is not original to me. If you really need a link to the original, we will look harder.
When I was young and impressionable, I heard the Co-Adjutor Archbishop of Bombay preach on the subject of Christmas. He made the point that the adjective “merry” actually means “to be showing the influence of alcohol”, that is to be at least partially drunk. So to wish someone a Merry Christmas is really to wish them a Drunken Christmas. Moreover, drunkenness is a sin, and it is illegal to ply an infant with alcohol. A “merry Christmas” not only treats the birth of Christ as an occasion for sin, it also excludes the guest of honour Himself from the celebration.
That is a perversion of the meaning of Christmas — yet how often do we hear “true Christians” insist on saying “merry Christmas”? Why don’t they just wish the world happiness and joy?
When preparing this feature, I googled the idea that merry means drunken. This was the AI reply: “That is an interesting assertion, but wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” is not a wish for a “Drunken Christmas.” The word “merry” simply means cheerful, lively, or happy, with no inherent connection to alcohol [1]” The footnote is to an article, which essentially says that merry means drunken. … Pictures today are from Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken in 1941. Atlanta Biltmore Hotel exterior. ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Georgia On My Mind
This content was published December 16, 2020. … Rock the Runoff: Broadway for Georgia performs “Georgia On My Mind” turned up on facebook. This video got me thinking about GOOM.
Youtube turned up the original. “© Written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics) Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy’s sister, Georgia Carmichael. However, the lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough to refer either to the state or to a woman named “Georgia”. Carmichael’s 1965 autobiography, “Sometimes I Wonder”, records the origin: a friend, saxophonist and bandleader Frankie Trumbauer, suggested: “Why don’t you write a song called ‘Georgia’? Nobody lost much writing about the South.” Thus, the song is universally believed to have been written about the state.”
National Anthems has a story about GOOM. (The 90’s website has a retro-illustration.) “STUART GRAHAM STEVEN GORRELL (1901-1963) and HOAGLAND HOWARD CARMICHAEL (1899-1981), wrote the song in 1930 almost as a lark … Hoagy Carmichael went to Indiana University, and one of his best college chums was Stuart Gorrell. Hoagy Carmichael was going to be a lawyer and Stuart Gorrell, when not hanging around the local “jazz joint” (called The Book Nook!) had promised someone that he would eventually be a success in the world of business.”
“The two of them were together at a party in New York and Hoagy Carmichael played what he had of the “Georgia” music line for Stuart Gorrell and some friends. After the party broke up, the two of them went back to a friend’s apartment and worked on the tune throughout the night. Stuart Gorrell wrote what he thought would be a good lyric line on the back of a post card, (now displayed in the Carmichael Room at Indiana University) and showed it to Hoagy Carmichael. One can still plainly see the few, but important, changes that Hoagy Carmichael made on that small piece of cardboard to Stuart Gorrell’s lyrical scratchings. (see note below) The song was improved upon, and the lyrics written, in that boozy early morning, and recorded in September 1930 by a band that included Hoagy Carmichael’s great friend, Bix Beiderbecke – a recording session that proved to be Bix’s last.”
“Hoagy Carmichael went on to write many more songs, some of them hits, and Stuart Gorrell kept his promise and became a Vice President at Chase Bank. Stuart Gorrell never tried to write another song lyric, but ‘Georgia on my Mind’ became a hit after World War II and Hoagy Carmichael, true to his word – although Stuart Gorrell was not legally credited as the lyricist by the music publisher – always sent Stuart Gorrell a cheque for what would have been his share of royalty. The royalty income from that song is substantial and, after Stuart Gorrell died, the income put his daughter through college.”
Mr. Gorrell wrote a letter to the Bremen (Indiana) Enquirer, August 3, 1961. “This accompanied his response to his home town’s Teen Hop patrons choosing the song as their theme song. … “Georgia on my mind” was composed more than a quarter of a century ago on a cold and stormy evening in 1930 in New York City. Hoagy Carmichael and I, in a third floor apartment overlooking 52nd street, with cold feet and warm hearts, looked out the window and, not liking what we saw, turned our thoughts to the pleasant southland. Thus was born a hauntingly sweet song. My mother, who died in Bremen in 1942, once asked a very penetrating question about the song. I had sent her a copy of the sheet music and, after reading the words over several times, she wondered aloud: “What is Georgia? A girl—or state? What do you think? Hoagy and I just love every one of you Bremen Teen Hoppers for honoring our tune by making it your theme song. Sincerely, Stuart Gorrell.”
“Georgia on my mind will enter the public domain January 1, 2026. … The 2020 post had a photograph of the original lyrics. The words “old sweet” were written in pencil, over a scratched out phrase. This photograph was at the Carmichael Room at Indiana University. I could not find this photograph at the internet archive. … “Significant portions of the collection at the ATM were digitized in 1999 as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS). A website was created as part of the project, which is no longer updated.” … Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken in March 1953. “Atlanta Crackers, sign boards outside Ponce de Leon Park … Looking west, Sears warehouse visible on left.“ ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Milo Yiannopoulos Today
This content was originally published December 29, 2017. … Milo Yiannopoulos is getting attention again. It seems as though the the editor’s notes for his book have been leaked to the press. Many of the comments are unkind. If you have ever wanted to see bad writing dissected and disemboweled, this is the time. PuffHo has a helpful list of some of the zingers. “Can you really prove a causality between [Black Lives Matter] and crime rate?” “DELETE UGH.”
Milo did not actually write Dangerous. Miloproduct is produced by a crew of interns. One of these drones got in trouble: Milo Yiannopoulos Speaks Out About ‘Bonkers’ Former Intern Arrested for Murdering Dad. Who gets the copyright credit for Dangerous? That might be a good trivia question.
@DALIAMALEK “… Look at the witty editor that worked to normalize white supremacy” Some people think Milo’s book was cancelled for being politically incorrect. Actually, the deal was trashed after Milo opened his mouth once too often, and became too controversial.
Simon & Schuster is not opposed to selling bad books to make money. In 1981, S&S published HOW TO STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS— AND WIN! This tome was written by Roy Cohn. The NYT review notes “Despite his reputation as a playboy bachelor, Mr. Cohn believes that a marriage should be ”kept intact” if there are children.”
Chamblee54 has written about whatshisname one two three four five six seven times. The pictures are usually better than the text. In one episode, Bill Maher said “Stop looking at the distractions and the clown show and look at what matters.” Then, without a trace of embarrassment, Mr. Maher introduced Milo, who is both distraction, and clown show. (The headline for the linked article: “Bill Maher: Trump and Russia Is ‘Worst Political Scandal in American History’.” That did not age well.)
The first time chamblee54 wrote about Milo had a prophetic quote. “This is the first time many have heard of Milo Yiannopoulos. Unfortunately, it probably will not be the last. He authored a piece at Breitbart, where he said “… Only by totally ignoring people’s feelings can we end the left’s culture of grievance, offense, and victimhood. …”
Many of the naysayers are calling Milo, and his product, racist. This is a reflex action to many SJW, who seldom miss an opportunity to scream racism. The ironic thing is that Milo talks loudly, and often, about his fondness for black men. On page 96, Milo says “”I love black people. Indeed, I love black people so much that my Grindr profile once said “No Whites.” I’d considered “Coloreds Only Served in Rear,” but that was a little too edgy, and Grindr once deleted my profile once for writing: “Don’t contact me if you’re under seven inches or you know who your dad is.”
Hopefully, Milo’s fifteen minutes will be over soon. … This content was recycled December 7, 2023. This was the 2023 update: If you ask google what Milo Yiannopoulos is doing today, you see that he is an intern for Marjorie Taylor Greene. In 2021, LifeSiteNews reported “Milo Yiannopoulos, the gay man whose conservative messaging and willingness to speak the truth sparked riots on university campuses may well trigger more outrage now that he describes himself as “Ex-Gay” and “sodomy free,” and is leading a daily consecration to St. Joseph online.” Google does not have a search result for the “daily consecration to St. Joseph online.”
In 2025, Milo appeared on Tucker Carlson, saying that “mainstreaming homosexuality in the Republican party is the great regret of my life.” “Yiannopoulos, who has described himself as “ex-gay” since 2021, repeated claims that sexual orientation is not real and promoted conversion therapy.” On X,
@Nero frequently attacks @NickJFuentes, who also says he is not gay. … Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken April 28, 1964. “Building at Auburn and Piedmont (Mitchell’s Place tavern and Royal Apartments)” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Fruitcake
This content was originally posted December 10, 2011. … A facebook friend put these fruitcake facts on the internet. I saw a chance for some snappy text to put between some pictures. I would be nutty as a fruitcake to turn down a chance like this. … Fruitcakes were buried with the dead in Ancient Egypt. It’s true. Ancient Egyptians used to fill the tombs of the dead with all the supplies that they would need to enjoy the afterlife, including food and water. Fruitcake was often put into the tomb of a deceased person because a fruitcake soaked in a natural preservative like alcohol or fruit juice would last a long time. It was thought that the preserved fruitcake would not spoil on the journey to the afterlife. Fruitcake was a staple food of other ancient cultures as well.
Candied fruits are used in fruitcake because using sugar was the only way to preserve the fruit long enough to get it back to Europe from the Middle East. When the Crusaders began carrying exotic fruits back to their European home the fresh fruit would spoil long before they were able to get it home. Ingenious traders began drying the fruits by candying them with sugar which made them an even more delicious treat and preserved them indefinitely. Once the candied fruits were sent to Europe and to other parts of the world they were baked into cakes so that they could be shared with family and friends on special occasions.
Fruitcakes will last for years without spoiling. It’s true. A fruitcake that is properly preserved with an alcohol soaked cheesecloth that is then wrapped in plastic wrap or foil can be kept unrefrigerated for years without spoiling. In the past, before refrigerators came along, families would make fruitcake for holidays and special occasions months in advance of the actual event. The fruitcakes would sit wrapped in an alcohol soaked cloth until the event happened. As long as the cloth was remoistened with alcohol occasionally the cakes not only didn’t spoil, they actually tasted richer and sweeter because they had been soaking in brandy and rum for a couple of months.
To millions of fruitcake consumers, the town of Claxton GA is very special. This south Georgia town, just down the road from Reidsville, is home to Claxton Fruit Cake. The story of the Claxton Fruit Cake company is a sweet one. Savino Tos founded the Claxton Bakery in 1910. He hired Albert Parker in 1927, and sold him the business in 1945. Mr. Parker decided to sell Fruit Cake to America.
No story about fruitcake is complete without mentioning the “Fruitcake Lady.” Marie Rudisill, an aunt of Truman Capote, wrote a book of fruitcake recipes. She became a tv celebrity, before going to the bakery in the sky on November 3, 2006.
The urban dictionary has many listings for fruit cake. The ones for homosexuals and crazy people are there. UD gets creative with this selection: “The act of releasing green chunky diarrhea onto your partners face, then ejaculating on it, then punching them in the nose causing the colors to mix together to form a fruit cake like color.”
If you tire of jokes about fruitcake, you can go to The society for the protection and preservation of fruitcake. (If you click on the “new URL”, you will be invited to join in the green card lottery). There used to be a link on the society page that enables you to buy Fruitcake Mints. “Keep your breath fruitcake fresh with these festive mints!”
December 27 is National Fruitcake Day. Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken in November 1970. “Mitchell Motors rooftop” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
The Cynic’s Word Book S
What follows are selections from The Devil’s Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce. TDD began as a newspaper column, and was later published as The Cynic’s Word Book. TDD is in the public domain. TDD is a dictionary, going from SE to SY. Today’s selection covers x to x. More selections are available. A – D E – G H – I J – L M – O P – R R – S
SERIAL, n. A literary work, usually a story that is not true, creeping through several issues of a newspaper or magazine. Frequently appended to each installment is a “synposis of preceding chapters” for those who have not read them, but a direr need is a synposis of succeeding chapters for those who do not intend to read them. A synposis of the entire work would be still better. (Mr. Bierce probably meant to say synopsis. I looked into this. All google references to synposis point back to synopsis. The rabbit hole is deeper than that. I wondered what the author’s middle name was. When I learned that it was Gwinnett, like the county, I was charmed. The wikipedia outpost had more fascinating details, which I had to turn away from if I am ever going to finish this post.)
SIREN, n. A musical prodigy famous for a vain attempt to dissuade Odysseus from a life on the ocean wave. Figuratively, any lady of splendid promise, dissembled purpose and disappointing performance.
SOPHISTRY, n. The controversial method of an opponent, distinguished from one’s own by superior insincerity and fooling. This method is that of the later Sophists, a Grecian sect of philosophers who began by teaching wisdom, prudence, science, art and, in brief, whatever men ought to know, but lost themselves in a maze of quibbles and a fog of words.
SOUL, n. A spiritual entity concerning which there hath been brave disputation. Plato held that those souls which in a previous state of existence (antedating Athens) had obtained the clearest glimpses of eternal truth entered into the bodies of persons who became philosophers. Plato himself was a philosopher. The souls that had least contemplated divine truth animated the bodies of usurpers and despots. Dionysius I, who had threatened to decapitate the broad-browed philosopher, was a usurper and a despot. Plato, doubtless, was not the first to construct a system of philosophy that could be quoted against his enemies; certainly he was not the last.
“Concerning the nature of the soul,” saith the renowned author of Diversiones Sanctorum, “there hath been hardly more argument than that of its place in the body. Mine own belief is that the soul hath her seat in the abdomen—in which faith we may discern and interpret a truth hitherto unintelligible, namely that the glutton is of all men most devout. He is said in the Scripture to ‘make a god of his belly’ —why, then, should he not be pious, having ever his Deity with him to freshen his faith? Who so well as he can know the might and majesty that he shrines? Truly and soberly, the soul and the stomach are one Divine Entity; and such was the belief of Promasius, who nevertheless erred in denying it immortality. He had observed that its visible and material substance failed and decayed with the rest of the body after death, but of its immaterial essence he knew nothing. This is what we call the Appetite, and it survives the wreck and reek of mortality, to be rewarded or punished in another world, according to what it hath demanded in the flesh. The Appetite whose coarse clamoring was for the unwholesome viands of the general market and the public refectory shall be cast into eternal famine, whilst that which firmly though civilly insisted on ortolans, caviare, terrapin, anchovies, pates de foie gras and all such Christian comestibles shall flesh its spiritual tooth in the souls of them forever and ever, and wreak its divine thirst upon the immortal parts of the rarest and richest wines ever quaffed here below. Such is my religious faith, though I grieve to confess that neither His Holiness the Pope nor His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury (whom I equally and profoundly revere) will assent to its dissemination.”
SUCCESS, n. The one unpardonable sin against one’s fellows. In literature, and particularly in poetry, the elements of success are exceedingly simple, and are admirably set forth in the following lines by the reverend Father Gassalasca Jape, entitled, for some mysterious reason, “John A. Joyce.”
The bard who would prosper must carry a book, · Do his thinking in prose and wear
A crimson cravat, a far-away look · And a head of hexameter hair.
Be thin in your thought and your body’ll be fat; · If you wear your hair long you needn’t your hat.
SUFFRAGE, n. Expression of opinion by means of a ballot. The right of suffrage (which is held to be both a privilege and a duty) means, as commonly interpreted, the right to vote for the man of another man’s choice, and is highly prized. Refusal to do so has the bad name of “incivism.” The incivilian, however, cannot be properly arraigned for his crime, for there is no legitimate accuser. If the accuser is himself guilty he has no standing in the court of opinion; if not, he profits by the crime, for A’s abstention from voting gives greater weight to the vote of B. By female suffrage is meant the right of a woman to vote as some man tells her to. It is based on female responsibility, which is somewhat limited. The woman most eager to jump out of her petticoat to assert her rights is first to jump back into it when threatened with a switching for misusing them.
SYCOPHANT, n. One who approaches Greatness on his belly so that he may not be commanded to turn and be kicked. He is sometimes an editor.
SYMBOL, n. Something that is supposed to typify or stand for something else. Many symbols are mere “survivals”—things which having no longer any utility continue to exist because we have inherited the tendency to make them; as funereal urns carved on memorial monuments. They were once real urns holding the ashes of the dead. We cannot stop making them, but we can give them a name that conceals our helplessness.
SYMBOLIC, adj. Pertaining to symbols and the use and interpretation of symbols.
They say ’tis conscience feels compunction; · I hold that that’s the stomach’s function,
For of the sinner I have noted · That when he’s sinned he’s somewhat bloated,
Or ill some other ghastly fashion · Within that bowel of compassion.
True, I believe the only sinner · Is he that eats a shabby dinner.
You know how Adam with good reason, · For eating apples out of season,
Was “cursed.”But that is all symbolic: · The truth is, Adam had the colic. · G.J.
The classical references in this text have not been verified. Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. Charles D. Jackson took the social media picture October 10, 1951. “Zenas Sears, WGST Radio personality, promoting “20 Grand Cream Ale,” for the Gate City Beverage Company, 350 Marietta Street, Atlanta, Georgia ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Did Jesus Go To Hell?
This content was posted December 22, 2008. … Maybe the problem is Jesus. Like many other issues, there are semantics involved. There is the historic Jesus. The legend is that a virgin mother gave birth to Jesus. He grew to be a carpenter, until taking time off to talk about God. Jesus was too much trouble for the powers that be, so he was killed. Later, Jesus rose from the dead. … There is also the spirit, which many call Jesus. This spirit has little in common with the historic Jesus, except for using the name. The best way to know the spirit Jesus is through those who believe in it.
There is some dispute when the historic Jesus was born. As another blogger put it: ”Israeli meteorologists best guess places the real date of Christ’s birth on September 29th, 5 B.C. The Catholic writer Mario Righetti candidly admits that, “to facilitate the acceptance of the faith by the pagan masses, the Church of Rome found it convenient to institute the 25th of December as the feast of the birth of Christ to divert them from the pagan feast, celebrated on the same day in honor of the ‘Invincible Sun’ Mithras, the conqueror of darkness” (Manual of Liturgical History, 1955, Vol. 2, P. 67).” … The truth is, we don’t know when historic Jesus was born. Four days after the winter solstice just seemed like a good time for a celebration.
There is also the spirit Jesus to think about. Since it doesn’t exist outside of the hearts of the believers, it can have any “birthday” it wants. December 25 works just fine. … The idea for this post was a rant about the hurt that spirit Jesus has put in my life. About the harm done to our society by the leadership of the Christian church, and their followers. About the debasement of our government by exploiting religion. This will not change anyone’s mind, and will only make me feel worse. Jesus is a source of misery to me. His birthday … spirit or historic … is nothing to celebrate.
This content was posted December 3, 2022. … A blogger named Older eyes put up a post about Tim Tebow and Bill Maher, who recently had a twitterspat. It went like this. “Maher Tweeted: Wow, Jesus just f—- TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler, “Hey, Buffalo’s killing them” … To Tebow’s credit, he ignored Maher, Tweeting only, Tough game today but what’s most important is being able to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas everyone GB² (according to Tebow’s website GB²=God Bless+Go Broncos).
I felt obliged to pile on, despite forgiving Denver for Super Bowl XXXIII. I left this comment: “1 – In all probability, Jesus was not born on December 25. The celebration of his birth was grafted onto a pagan festival day. 2 – It sure was fun watching Buffalo run those interceptions back for touchdowns. 3 – There is no good choice here. In both cases, you have the option of turning the TV off, or switching away from twitter. If you are in enforced contact (a work or family situation) with someone who will not shut up, who repeats his obnoxious opinions with disregard for his neighbor, then you do not have this option. 4 – Jesus said, when Satan was through talking to Hitler, please leave me out of this.”
This got me to thinking. If you saw a mushroom cloud rising over Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, that might have been the result. Did Jesus go to hell? The party line is that Jesus paid the price for the sins of mankind. Is forty four hours in a cave enough? When you consider the billions of lies, murders, and fornications, you have to wonder. Maybe Jesus is taking the place of man in hell, paying the price for your sins. … This is a repost from 2012. Tim Tebow’s fifteen minutes are over. Colin Kaepernick’s fifteen minutes refuse to end. Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library The social media picture was taken March 5, 1954. “Atlanta Car for Hire Association member (?) taxicab” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
If I Were A Poor Black Kid
This content was published December 12, 2023. … There is a fuss going on about an article at Forbes magazine, If I Was A Poor Black Kid. I was reading a facebook discussion of the article, and decided I wanted to read the original. I googled white guy writing about being a poor black kid for freakin’ FORBES, and the fun began.
Angry Black Lady Chronicles tells of the day when her (white) mother took a day off, from her job as a copy editor, to get young ABL enrolled in a tougher math class. Greg Laden’s Blog chimes in with Forbes’ Gene Marks Needs To Check His Priv. The last line says it all … “Or, as in your case, not so smart but privileged.”
If you want to read the denunciations of the Forbes article, open your eyes and take a look. You might want to hurry up. Soon, there will be another article, somewhere, that people don’t like. Maybe you can talk about the War on Christmas. This is an example of Christian Privilege gone awry. It is a safe bet that many of the poor black kids are Christians. Maybe one form of privilege will outweigh another. Or people will learn about a grain of salt.
It is ironic that the piece was published in Forbes. Malcolm Forbes was fond of saying that he was loaded with “sheer ability, spelled i-n-h-e-r-i-t-a-n-c-e.” The elder Forbes had a lavish lifestyle, with Elizabeth Taylor as a beard. His son, Steve Forbes, (Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr.) was quoted as saying “My father once spent $5 million on a birthday party for himself in Tangiers. Why can’t I spend a few more running for President?”.
This feature was originally published in 2011 It was a simpler time. Pictures today are from the Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken September 4, 1947. “Capital Theater Ernest Tubb personal appearance. ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Erick Erickson Wants Donations
This content was posted July 9, 2015. … @EWErickson Trump’s rise is part of the unintended consequences of the GOP trying to compress the Presidential primary cycle. This message was retweeted. Blue Gal/Fran! Excuse me I gotta go buy more popcorn. (The spell check suggestion for retweeted is regretted.)
Erick Erickson is a piece of work. He is the grand wazoo at Red State, a “conservative” web site. RS gave Chamblee54 a 601 Database redigestation error onetime. This required a visit to the computer shop to get the malicious code off the machine.
Today’s tweet linked to a post at Mr. Erickson’s current blog, Stop Complaining About Donald Trump. If you want to see it, you can follow the link. This post is not going to concern itself with “conservative” commentary about the latest golden boy of the wig party.
The last five words of the post are “think of another “F” word.” Below that, you are encouraged to “Support the work at Erick on the Radio.” You can “Select an Amount” and click “Next.” At this point credit card numbers become involved. Never give a credit card number to someone who has given your computer malicious code. UPDATE: This request is not on the Internet Archive version.
Erick Erickson has a daily radio show on WSB. This is a 50,000 watt clear channel am station. WSB is part of the Cox media team that dominates Atlanta. His show is sponsored by advertising, and is probably a profit center for the Cox bean counters.
Why does Erick Erickson feel the need to ask for donations on the Internet? Is the free market model of talk radio not working for him? Apparently not. … Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken in 1951. “Peachtree Street and Ellis Street” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
If I Had A Hammer
This content was published November 1, 2022. … @itstimetowrite “#writingprompt Pick 3 objects around you at random. The first item is a character’s portal, the other their prize, the last is their crutch. Interpret this, figuratively or literally, into the genre of your choice. #amwriting #writingcommmunity” The first object that I picked up was an orange. It was sitting on the desk. Since I was going to eat the orange, I substituted a paper clip. Since the instructions say “around you,” the many promising items on the desk will be ignored.
I turn 270 degrees, and finds a “QUICK START GUIDE” on the shelf. It is a booklet, 2″ x 5″, with basic instructions for JBL TUNE 215 TWS ear buds. This has sat on the shelf since the device was purchased, and will probably be discarded once this exercise is complete.
The utility shelf on the wall behind me is the next stop. A tube of equate athlete’s foot cream cream is chosen. 95% of the product has been removed from the container. A flat object has rubbed the side of the tube, driving the remaining Clotrimazole in the direction of the dispensing orifice. It is not known how many more applications of the prophylactic compound remain in the tube.
The character today is Paulie DePape, a California hammer enthusiast. Paulie was so excited about his latest purchase that he went to see his mentor. Unfortunately, it was 2:30 am, and the mentor was busy putting his cell phone in the bathroom to charge. Paulie tried to get into the San Francisco mansion, using the paper clip as a portal. It did not work, and Paulie broke into the residence with his new hammer. The new device was magical indeed … when Paulie broke the laminated glass on the back door, the glass fell back on the patio.
Paulie looked in his pockets, and found the “QUICK START GUIDE.” In his hammer-headed state of mind, Paulie opened the QSG, and realized that he already knew what it said. He turned the QSG over, and saw the fine print instructions in a variety of exotic languages. This was not much of a prize. Paulie held his mentor’s domineering wife responsible. Paulie grabbed his hammer, screamed “Where’s Nancy,” and ran up the stairs.
At this point, Paulie tripped over his hammer, and injured his leg. He would need a crutch to complete his mission, but all he had was an 95% empty tube of Walmart Athlete’s foot goo. Paulie quickly realized that the tube would be useless as a crutch.
By this time, the police had been notified. The mentor answered the door, and then tried to grab the hammer away from Paulie. He was very proud of his new hammer, and angry at Nancy for giving him a QSG as a prize. Paulie snatched the hammer away, and proceeded to brain the mentor. The police interrupted this procedure, and took Paulie into custody.
Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library The social media picture: “Print made in the 1960s by the Lane Brothers of a photographic image of Stone Mountain, showing an early version of Robert E. Lee’s head (with hat) — probably the initial carving by Gutzon Borglum. Borglum’s work was destroyed after he left the project in 1923. Stamp on reverse of print is later Lane Brothers stamp: “Lane Bros. Photographers, 241 Peachtree-Arcade Bldg., Atlanta, Ga., MU. 8-2513.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah



































































































































































leave a comment